Australian news, and some related international items

Repeating this item. What a pity that the excellent full article has been removed from the Australian government website!

Why we must act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Australian Government 8 Dec 09 Despite world attention, humans emit more greenhouse gases every year than they did the year before. It’s a situation that Australia needs to help turn around if we don’t want to bear the brunt of climate change, says Chief Scientist Professor Penny Sackett……

…..The Greenhouse Effect
The sun continuously bathes the Earth with energy in the form of sunlight. Much of this energy is absorbed by the Earth, and then emitted as infrared radiation, or heat. Greenhouse gases prevent the Earth from discarding as much of this heat as it otherwise would back into space.

Without naturally occurring greenhouse gases, the Earth would be a much colder place, inhospitable to modern human existence. But by the same token, the additional greenhouse gases added to this store by humans is slowly increasing the average temperature of the Earth system.

Due to the quantity in which it is emitted by humans, its longevity in the atmosphere, and its effects in trapping heat, carbon dioxide is the most important of the greenhouse gases currently causing changes in the Earth’s climate……

In Australia, extreme fire danger days are already becoming more numerous in many parts of the country, and floods and cyclones more intense.

Research by the CSIRO indicates that the frequency of days with very high and extreme Forest Fire Danger Index ratings is likely to increase by 15 to 70 per cent by 2050 in southeast Australia…..

Environmental groups used to be funded largely by their members and wealthy individual supporters

The Wrong Kind of Green, By Johann Hari, The Nation, March 2010 “…as we confront the biggest ecological crisis in human history, many of the green organizations meant to be leading the fight are busy shoveling up hard cash from the world’s worst polluters–and burying science-based environmentalism in return. Sometimes the corruption is subtle Continue reading →

This Earth Day: Recommit to Think Globally and Act Locally, THE HUFFINGTON POST, David Gordon, 22 April 2010, “…… We need to make some tough choices. We need to transform our electricity systems by multiplying energy efficiency measures and to invest only in renewable energy, not in more fossil fuels. Continue reading →

Saakashvili accuses Russia of supplying enriched uranium to Caucasus, News.Az 23 April 2010, President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili accused Russia “of creating unstableness”.According to RBK, in the opinion of the Georgian leader, the unstableness enables the smugglers to deliver the highly enriched uranium to the Caucasus………..The Georgian leader underlined that Russia should be responsible for maintaining control of the nuclear weapon distribution in these territories so long as “it has occupied them”. In his opinion, the incidents with the highly enriched uranium threaten Georgia’s safety. News.Az – Saakashvili accuses Russia of supplying enriched uranium to Caucasus

Canton slams radioactive waste plans, World Radio Switzerland, 21 April 2010, Plans for a radioactive waste disposal unit in the canton of Schaffhausen has come under fire in a study published by the local government.The National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste outlined two possible sites for the unit: one in Zurich Weinland and one near Sudranden in the canton of Schaffhasusen.That’s just a few kilometers from the city of Schaffhausen, where 80 percent of the canton’s population live and work.

Today’s report says a disposal centre would have a detrimental effect on the town of Schaffhausen, and on the development of both the canton’s economy and population.The report estimates it would lose between 15 and 33 million francs in tax revenue a year and the population would drop by up to 5,000 people. WRS | Canton slams radioactive waste plans

the developing world has unfortunately become the dumping ground for all sorts of hazardous waste from the developed world.

Radioactive Waste Came From Abroad, Officials Say | India, THE FASTER TIMES, Jeremy Kahn, 19 April 2010, Last week, I reported on the disconcerting case of a bunch of radioactive Cobalt 60 turning up in a West Delhi scrap dealer’s shop, resulting in the poisoning of at least six people and a considerable amount of panic.Now, The Wall Street Journal talks to nuclear scientists investigating the incident. They say that while they have not yet determined the source of radioactive metal, they are certain that it did not come from an Indian source…….As I mentioned in my initial post on this – the developing world has unfortunately become the dumping ground for all sorts of hazardous waste from the developed world. Radioactive Waste Came From Abroad, Officials Say | India

while nuclear plants have permits that allow them to emit material into surface water and the air, they do not have permits that let them release material to groundwater, which is where the tritium is going..

Has Trust Leaked Away With the Tritium? NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD, April 20, 2010, A panel of experts convened on Tuesday by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to discuss how the agency should approach tritium leaks at reactors suggested that the biggest risk that nuclear operators faced was the erosion of public trust…. Continue reading →

Biggest quake in 50 years hits Australia’s goldfields (open pit) Virginia Against Uranium Mining: Biggest quake Perth, Australia (AFP) April 20, 2010 The biggest earthquake in 50 years rattled Western Australia’s Goldfields region on Tuesday, damaging buildings but not causing any injuries, officials said.The 5.2-magnitude quake, at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometres (six miles), struck just outside the Kalgoorlie-Boulder mining towns at about 8:17 am (0017 GMT), geologists said……..A spokesman for the geoscientific agency said the remote mining centre, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) east of Perth, had not seen an earthquake bigger than 4.2 in the previous half-century.”This is quite a large earthquake for Australia and a shallow, potentially damaging, earthquake,” he said. “It’s the largest event in this area in the last 50 years.” Officials at nearby mines were not immediately available for comment.

if they can mount solar panels on the rooftops and on those areas that are economically unproductive they can produce enormous amount of solar power

Ontario Solar Power could match US Nuclear Power, Alternative Energy April 20th, 2010 –Queen’s University Applied Sustainability Research Group located in Kingston, Canada comes out with two studies that claim solar power in southeastern Ontario can be created in abundance. The natural question is how much abundance?. The answer is mind-boggling. Southeastern Ontario has the potential to produce almost as much power as all the nuclear reactors in the United States! Continue reading →

“Uranium and weapons development of the Cold War era left a gruesome legacy in communities of mine workers and downwinders,”

Bipartisan bill would compensate more downwinders Legislation covers people affected in seven states. By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune04/20/2010 People throughout seven Western states — including anywhere in Utah — who were exposed to radiation from atomic testing and the uranium industry would be eligible for government compensation, under proposed new congressional legislation…….. Continue reading →

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled then that the landowners don’t have to prove they were actually harmed to sue past contractors for trespassing by allowing contaminants to spread beyond the plant.

The high court also held that land devaluation by intentional trespassing is a recognized measure of damages once actual injury is determined. There is injury if groundwater is contaminated and it can’t be consumed.

Ky. landowners settle lawsuit over uranium leaks, BusinessWeek, By BRETT BARROUQUERE 21 April 2010, !LOUISVILLE, Ky.A group of landowners have settled in a long-running lawsuit for $1.75 million over allegations that water leaks from a western Kentucky uranium enrichment plant devalued property values….compensating between 70 and 80 homeowners for the devaluation of their property because of radiation contamination….. Continue reading →

1.This month

Read summaries of submissions to the Senate, re the Selection process for a national radioactive waste management facility in South Australia. Each summary has a link to the full submission. Obviously the Department of Industry Innovation and Science (DIIS) was not happy with the majority of submissions opposing the process, so now are trying to get a better (for them) result

SUBMISSIONS CALLED FOR – about “Broad Community Support” for a nuclear waste dump in Kimba or Hawker, South Australia

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science wants submissions between 1 August and 24 September 2018. People can resend the submissions already sent to the Senate Inquiry. Submissions to the department will only be made public where permission is provided.

See our page: Submissions on Radioactive Waste Code 2018/ Submissions published by ARPANSA are overwhelmingly critical, and in opposition to the Federal nuclear dump plan for rural South Australia. [not to be confused with the current SENATE INQUIRY Selection process for a national radioactive waste management facility in South Australia.]